How to Actually Know Your Customer: The Foundation of Great Marketing

One of the biggest marketing mistakes founders make is assuming they already know who their customer is.

It's easy to say things like:

"My audience is Gen Z."

"My audience is women aged 25–35."

"My audience is small business owners."

But these descriptions rarely tell us anything useful. Good marketing starts with understanding people, not demographics. That was one of the key themes explored during FishTank's Marketing & Branding masterclass, where founders were challenged to think more deeply about who they're speaking to and why those people should care.

Because before you decide what to post, where to post it or how often to post it, you need to understand the people you're trying to reach.

Marketing Starts With the Goal

Many businesses approach marketing backwards.

They start by asking:

"What should I post today?"

A more effective question is:

"What am I trying to achieve?"

Are you looking for customers?

Partnerships?

Event attendees?

Newsletter subscribers?

Investment opportunities?

Once the goal is clear, every marketing decision becomes easier.

The audience becomes clearer.

The message becomes clearer.

The platforms become clearer.

Marketing works best when it supports a business objective rather than existing as an activity on its own.

Understanding Your Ideal Customer

During the session, founders explored the concept of an Ideal Customer Profile, often referred to as an ICP. An ICP goes far beyond age, location or occupation. It focuses on motivations, frustrations and behaviours.

What problem is your customer trying to solve?

What has stopped them from solving it so far?

What do they find frustrating about existing options?

What would success look like for them?

The more specific these answers become, the easier it becomes to create content, products and services that genuinely connect.

Why Personas Matter

One exercise involved building detailed customer personas.

Rather than describing broad groups, founders created profiles based on real people and real challenges.

A customer isn't simply "someone interested in skincare."

They might be:

A busy parent looking for products they can trust.

A young professional looking for convenience.

A sustainability-conscious consumer trying to make more ethical purchasing decisions.

Each of these people requires a different message.

Each responds to different motivations.

And each is likely to engage with different content.

This is why understanding your audience is one of the most valuable investments a founder can make.

Positioning: What Makes You Different?

The session also explored brand positioning.

Many businesses struggle to explain why someone should choose them over an alternative.

Positioning helps solve that problem.

Founders were encouraged to complete a simple sentence:

"For [audience], we are the only [category] that [unique value]."

It sounds simple, but it's surprisingly difficult.

The exercise forced founders to move beyond generic statements and identify what genuinely makes their business distinctive.

Because in crowded markets, clarity is often more powerful than complexity.

Finding Your Brand Voice

Not every business should sound the same.

Some audiences need reassurance.

Others need expertise.

Others respond to challenge and disruption.

The session introduced three broad archetypes that founders could use to shape their communication style:

The Mentor.

The Expert.

The Rebel.

Each creates a different emotional response.

The right choice depends entirely on who you're speaking to and what they need from you.

Choosing the Right Platform

The reality is that there isn't a universal answer. The best platform isn't necessarily the newest, the trendiest, or even the one you enjoy using most. Instead, it's the platform where your audience is already spending their time.

If your ideal customers are professionals looking for industry insights, LinkedIn may be the right place to start. If they regularly consume educational content and tutorials, YouTube could be a better fit. For founders looking to build deeper relationships with their audience over time, newsletters can be a powerful tool for creating trust and staying top of mind.

Rather than trying to be everywhere at once, focus on showing up consistently where your audience already is. A strong presence on one or two well-chosen platforms will almost always outperform spreading yourself too thin across many.

Final Thoughts

Great marketing isn't about being the loudest voice in the room, it's about building a genuine understanding of the people you're trying to reach.

When founders take the time to get to know their audience, marketing becomes far more effective. Content feels more relevant, messaging becomes clearer, and every marketing decision is grounded in a deeper understanding of customer needs. Instead of guessing what might resonate, you're able to create content, products and experiences that genuinely connect.

Understanding your audience can also help you make better use of your time and budget, ensuring your efforts are focused on the people most likely to engage with your business.

As you think about your next piece of content, campaign or marketing activity, take a moment to ask yourself one simple question:

Do I really know who I'm speaking to?

The answer could shape not only your marketing strategy, but the future direction of your business.

Ready to Explore Your Business Idea?

The FishTank Incubator Programme supports early-stage founders to explore ideas, validate opportunities and build sustainable businesses through expert-led workshops, mentorship and a supportive community of entrepreneurs.

Applications for our current cohort is closed, but future opportunities are always on the horizon.

Follow FishTank and keep an eye out for announcements about upcoming cohorts and programmes.